What are your memorable snapshots in time with animals?

Allen recently heard a special friend say that each moment in life is a snapshot in time; often gone before we are ready. Allen was in a rushed circumstance when he heard the words. In the week of vacation he was preparing to take, he wanted to think about how this view of life applied to him, Linda, and Leaf.

During Allen’s vacation days away from his job in computer software, he took care of Cuddles, Sunshine, and Leaf while Linda visited their grown children in Atlanta and then her mother in Texas.

Each vacation day, Allen took Leaf to the large dog park next to the Mississippi River. The visits are always filled with adventure and fun, while the two of them explore trails and riverside. As they walked down the mile-long dirt path to the dog park, Allen noticed that Leaf would look directly at the faces of people passing by him.

Leaf lifted his head high and made eye contact with each person. Many seemed surprised that they are being acknowledged with eye-to-eye contact by a dog.

Was this a snapshot in time moment, when a human feels a spiritual connection with another life form, in a chance meeting, on a dirt trail? Did each of those human beings feel a spiritual connection with a dog?

After Leaf took his snapshot of each person he passed, Allen heard comments from the people. They said things such as, “There’s a lot going on with that dog,” or “What a interesting personality — such a character,” and “Such beautiful eyes!” Almost every person smiled at Leaf and then at Allen. In each person’s face the eyes grew just a bit brighter and more alive.

There is a saying in ancient religious traditions that soul equals soul. Leaf and the people he passed experienced that age-old wisdom for a moment. As a snapshot in time, two souls, regardless of the physical body each inhabited, met an equal.

An individual remembers a snapshot in time for as long as possible. It becomes a moment of light connecting with light, soul with soul; of remembering what was lost, what was forgotten, and who and what we are.

But the moment slips away. The veil quickly takes its correct and proper place, covering the light, bringing each of us back to daily life. The moment is gone, and the snapshot fades from memory before we’re ready.

As Leaf moved to the next person along the trail, another moment in time, another snapshot may have been recorded in memory. Maybe not all of them faded quickly.

On Friday Cuddles, our cat, and Leaf finally had enough of Linda’s absence as the end of Allen’s vacation neared. The cat and dog lay down on the back of the couch and looked forlorn.

Allen told Cuddles and Leaf that Linda would be home soon, but they wanted to see her NOW.